Airing Out the Closet
by anamberrose
Summary: [Set between 2.03 and 2.04] Belle and Rumple have been avoiding town. Belle has had enough.


Title: Airing Out the Closet  
Author: An Amber Rose  
Pairing: Rumplestilskin/Belle  
Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I do not own "Once Upon a Time." If I did, it would air on HBO, not ABC (although this is quite tame). This is my first foray into this fandom, so please forgive any screw-ups. Also, this is un-beta'ed.

Summary: [Set between 2.03 and 2.04] Belle and Rumple have been avoiding town. Belle has had enough.

-  
Belle blinked against the harsh morning light and stretched on her side, sighing contentedly when Gold's arm tightened around her middle. She snuggled down into the blankets and placed her arm overtop his, stroking lightly. The morning sun streamed in through the bedroom curtains and Belle made a mental note to remember to close them before going to bed next time.

It had been a glorious few weeks. She was out of the asylum, reunited with her true love, and they were happily getting to know each other much better than before. In short, she was back where she belonged. There was, however, still a few things that bothered her.

"Rum?" she asked quietly, lacing her fingers through his.

"Mmmph?" came the muffled reply.

"Rum, wake up."

"No," he smiled against her hair, "Don't wanna." He bit her earlobe gently.

Belle gave a startled squeak and rolled over quickly. Throwing a leg overtop of Gold, Belle pulled herself up into a sitting position over his hips laughing.

"Hey, now," She said grinning, "none of that."

Gold gave her a mock-pout. "That's not what you said last night."

She couldn't help but giggle as she leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose. "Come on, sleepyhead, time to get up. I want to go exploring and _you_ have a shop to open."

"Or," he said, gripping her hips and skimming a hand up her side, "Or, we can stay here." He leaned up to kiss her lips. "Warm." Kiss. "Safe." Kiss. "Naked." Gold grinned at that one and gave her a leer that made her laugh again.

"That's all we've done this week, Rum. We can't stay hidden up in this bedroom forever, you know."

"Sure we can." He flipped them over and pressed his hips into hers. "Watch." He dipped his head for another kiss, but Belle turned her head quickly.

"No, we can't. And I want to go explore the town. Meet people. Maybe even look for my father." Gold's face fell and Belle's hand flew to his cheek in reassurance. "Besides, you haven't opened your shop for days. People probably think you've wandered off somewhere."

He kissed her palm. "No, they don't, dearie."

"Oh?" Belle raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you so sure? People are probably in your shop right now poking through all your things."

"First off, most of the stuff in my shop belongs to other people anyways. I simply commandeered it - rescued it, if you will. And besides," he said, tickling her side, "I remembered to lock up, unlike someone I could name. Second, they don't think I've wandered off because if they did, we'd hear the party music all the way from here."

"Now that's not fair. The townspeople wouldn't throw a party if you weren't around anymore."

"A small get-together then. They'd still play music. Semantics, sweetheart."

Belle huffed in exasperation and glared up at him. "Party or no party, we need to get up."

"Oh, I'm up, dearie," he leered before leaning down and kissing her neck lightly. "Always am around you."

"As in awake, Rumplestilskin! Awake, up, and moving around."

"I believe we're doing all of that, sweetheart, in case you haven't noticed." He pressed his hips into hers again.

"Downstairs! And dressed!"

"Now you're just trying to spoil my fun." He turned and flopped down onto the bed beside her.

"Come on, Rum," Belle coaxed, leaning up on an elbow. "I want to meet your friends."

"Don't have friends, dearie. Never did."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, "Then I want to meet the people you like to terrorize." She climbed out of bed and tugged on his arm. "Come on, get up!"

She dropped his arm when he began to sit up and turned towards the foot of the bed where she'd tossed her robe the night before. Gold sat up and leaned back against the headboard.

"Are you so eager to leave, then?" he asked, resigned.

She whirled around, hearing the unspoken 'me' in his question. "No! Oh god, Rum, no!" She rushed over and sat beside him on the bed, grasping his hand firmly. "Of course not, Rum. Why would you think something like that? Because I want to go outside? Meet new people?" She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Oh, Rum, you silly man. I just want to learn more about you. About this town. You forget I've been locked away for 28 years. I know nothing about this new world besides the little bits you've shown me."

Gold grasped the wrist of her hand on his cheek. "Never. I could never forget that, sweetheart."

"Maybe not, but you must forgive."

"How can I? She locked you away. Let me believe you were _dead_! She even created a false grave marker for you. I can't forgive that, Belle." He turned and kissed her palm, clutching it desperately as tears threatened to spill down his cheeks.

"You must, love." She kissed his lips softly and wiped away the tears beginning to fall. "You must." She leaned in and placed her head at his shoulder. "What matters is that I'm here now. We're together _now_," She grasped his face firmly in her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes, "and I'm not going to leave you again." She pulled back, smiling and poked his chest. "Not even if you send me away. Again."

Gold smiled. "All right, love, I'll try. For you, I'll try."

"That's all I ask." Belle wrapped her arms around Gold's neck and kissed him again. "Now can we go into town?"

Gold signed dramatically and released Belle as she stood up beside the bed, "I suppose there are still a few people that need terrorizing, yes. If only to serve as a reminder that that this old dragon hasn't been tamed just yet." Belle raised an eyebrow and smirked. Gold swatted her backside playfully, "Go get dressed, wench, and I'll take you into town."

Gold ducked and laughed as Belle threw a pillow at his head.

-FIN-


End file.
